Helvetico Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Great ice grip, but I undertand this is a characteristic of all titanal boards. I've only ever ridden one other hardboot-specific board...a Virus Extreme Carver something or the other, which had a great, snappy tail. The F2 rides damp but might not kick back the energy carvers would want. Tried it off-piste in crud-covered fresh, but went over the nose after a couple of turns. I don't quite understand why anybody bothers with HB's off-piste, but I imagine this board is capable enough in that department. I'd rather take the Tanker 200 any day. Update: I did play around on the Tanker in shallow fresh with the HB's, and it was fun. I might be changing my mind about HB's and powder. Maybe I'm just getting better. Bottom line: Rides smoothly like a full-sized sedan, but its suspension may make things go a little too smoothly. Update: Had a chance to ride it in some shallow powder, and the board did well. Mind you, there was hardpack maybe half a foot underneath, so this might account for some of the board's responsiveness. Lots of fun to carve around on the piste and then play around in piste-side soft, but I would never want to get caught in deep powder or backcountry on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hey, great that you posted this! I always wanted to hear about it... I have the non-titanal version - ElDiablo. It is an excellent all-mountain board. It has ok rebound. However, the ice grip is not stellar compared to another brand titanal AM board I've got. Hey, try that Tanker with the plaes, then you'll understand ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 How much nose rocker (de-camber) the Vantage seem to have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvetico Posted January 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2010 As a mediocre snowboarder, I have to say that this technology works on ice. F2 advertises it as a board for "soul-carvers," which is, in my estimation, a polite way of saying "guys who have the pep of accountants." I have a couple of Tankers...an older 182 that has given up the ghost, and which I dearly love, and a newer 200, which floats like nobody's business but cannot carve as well (nose wider than tail). The older board was floppy and practically decambered, but it just worked. Bad news on ice, though. Because I'm too lazy to go down to the basement and measure the actual camber of the F2, I'll post this photo: http://www.blue-tomato.com/medias/generated_xaZxV6gDQZscyVklhU3IEb-30_600_600.jpeg One caveat: I'm not an experienced alpine rider, so I would not weigh my review of the F2 too heavily. It's a good board for slow, middle-aged guys like me, but a young, athletic man full of spring might find it wanting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvetico Posted January 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2010 I just looked at your post again and realized you meant NOSE rocker. Compared to the Tanker, which looks like a shovel, the F2 has a moderate amount of nose rocker. To my mind, it's an ideal board for resort cruising in most conditions, but I can't see venturing off-piste with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvetico Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 So I finally rode it in some real powder, and slush. Set the bindings all the way back. It behaved very well...there is nothing wrong with the shape whatsoever. It won't float, though. This makes sense, as I'm 185 lbs. without equipment. Nothing like my 2 meter Tanker, which will get me through almost anything. In summary, it's a decent board with a lifeless tail. It absorbs energy from the mountain, but it refuses to return it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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